What Friends Are For
by clueless in Canada
Summary: When Senri gets some bad news in the mail, he feels like the world is ending. A certain bubbly blond manages to convince him otherwise. AU, rated for mentions of death and minor swearing. Not yaoi or slash.


A/N: Okay, this is a completely random little one shot that I thought of right after I finished reading volume 12 of Vampire Knight (which was a long time ago- this is really old)… I dont know why. The book has really… nothing to do with this. I was in the mood for a friendship and comfort thing, cause I just love an angsty Senri. One last thing- its AU, so they arent vampires. Just human. Thanks!

_To whom it may concern,_

_It has come to our attention that Shiki Midori has passed away as of 5th April, 2011. Enclosed is her last will and testament, and death certificate. _

_Regards,_

_Cross Psychiatric Hospital of Upper Tokyo_

Damn.

I reread the letter again and again, my hand shaking slightly. The rain didnt help, Ill tell you. I bet I looked pitiful- soaked to the skin, tears mixing with rain, clutching a drenched piece of paper like it was my lifeline.

Damn, I thought again.

Mother… she was far too young to die.

I blinked as precipitation ran into my ice-blue eyes. Why didnt I have enough sense to go inside? Life just seemed so pointless. Every day is the same. Some days, I couldnt even be bothered to brush my teeth or burgundy-colored hair. On one occasion, I had even refused to eat until my best friend, Ichijo Takuma, force-fed me candy and junk food. Takuma. He understood me better than I did. I didnt know why I felt worthless. He knew.

"Senri," he said, looking me in the eye with a stern, almost comical glare, "depression eats away at the soul. Hunger eats away at the body." After that, he proceeded to pry my mouth open and jam a pop tart down my throat.

No, Takuma isnt nutters. Hes actually one of the most sane people I know. Sometimes his love and natural concern for me lead him to do some pretty crazy things (hence the force-feeding), but it was all out of love.

I sighed at the realization that he was going to interrogate me about my soaked condition, the letter, and why I hadnt bothered to take off the makeup from my last photo shoot with Rima- the chalky and sticky substances now running down my face and neck, just about to sneak under the collar of my shirt. I didnt really mind him mothering me, seeing that the mother I did have is- was- schizophrenic. Sometimes it was nice to have someone care about my wellbeing. My cousin, Kaname, cared, but not enough. His way of caring was to set up my career and pay for college. He wasnt like Takuma. I couldnt just run up to him and hug him, not that I ever would. Although, Takuma had done exactly that on several occasions.

Yuuki, Kanames sister, was definitely nice. She understood that I liked solitude and needed space, but wasnt afraid to give me an affectionate kiss on the forehead or ask for help with her homework. She was better than Kaname, I knew that.

Rima was great, too. She was always there when I needed her. Not just as my coworker and schoolmate, but as a friend. She knew how to get me to do something I didnt want to. She could make me feel good about myself. Rima made sense. She wasnt a fangirl, and she knew I was just flat-out not interested in a relationship.

But out of them all, Takuma was the best.

By far.

With a start, I found myself thinking, "Hes all the family I have."

Wiping my eyes, I finally decided to get my professional model ass out of the rain. I trudged inside the dorm building, up to the room I shared with Takuma on the third floor. Even though it was nearly eleven at night with school tomorrow, he would surely be awake, reading some manga or magazine. And he was. I opened the door to our room and was immediately covered in a worried blond warmth that was Takuma.

"Where have you been, Senri? I was so worried! Youre soaked… I thought the shoot was done over an hour ago! Dont tell me you sat in the rain that whole time…!" I slowly nodded and he dragged me over to the couch. "Sit! Ill go get some stuff…"

I watched him flit about the room, grabbing new clothes and towels and throwing some cold pizza in the microwave.

"Takuma, this isnt really necessary…"

"Oh, but it is! Senri, sometimes I think that you wouldnt last a day without Rima or I. Youd just wither away into a little beet-haired shrivel." I groaned at his "beet" comment, but he paid no heed and began to unbutton my jacket for me. "Honestly! I have to do everything for you, dont I?" I shrugged.

He watched me for a moment. "But… I dont mind doing it." With a sigh, he pulled my shirt off over my head and went on to button on the new one. "I guess Im just that kind of person, huh?"

"Yeah, maybe."

Takuma straightened up and went to hang up my coat, which he had flung God-only-knows-where. "Huh… whats this?"

"Whats what?"

"This." He held up a soaked piece of paper with a watery symbol on it. I recognized it as the symbol of Cross Psychiatric Hospital, but didnt say anything. "It has come to our… Oh my."

The letter fell to the ground and he looked at me, green eyes wide and tear-filled. I just nodded.

"That."

"Oh my… Senri…"

I couldnt look at anything but my hands, folded neatly in my lap. Despite that, I knew my best friend was crying silently. Somewhere within me, I felt the urge to hug him. But I bit it back and sat there, waiting for him to say something.

"God, Im so sorrry…"

"Its alright, you dont need to be." I avoided looking at him, mainly because I knew that if I did, there would be no parting of the Red Sea (1).

The blond was standing in front of me, I could tell by the shadow. "Senri, are you okay?"

"Dandy."

"You dont look like it."

"Is it because of the kicked puppy thing I have going on? Sorry." I tried my hardest to smile, even though I knew he was too smart to fall for that.

"Dont you lie to me, young man!"

I sighed.

"Senri?"

"Yeah?"

He seemed to have forgotten what he was going to say. "Never mind."

"What were you-"

Before I could finish my simple question, I found myself in the air, supported only by two arms and a strong torso. "You should go to bed."

"Takuma! Put me down!" It wasnt that I was all that terribly petite- okay, maybe I was on the short side- it was just that he was so much taller than I was. Much stronger, too. As a model, I had to stay slim and make sure I didnt get a build up of either muscles or fat. Takuma, on the other hand, was well-muscled, yet lean, from years of martial arts and katana training.

"No! If I do, youll just stand right back up. No." The second no was more to reassure himself than me.

"But-"

"Senri, listen to me." He looked down at me, eyes still slightly red from crying. "Youve gone downhill far enough. Please. Just stop resisting living."

"Alright, but only since you asked so nicely."

Without looking, I knew Takuma was smiling. "Good."

He set me down on my bed and sat next to me. I was grateful for that, since his heat kept me warm as well.

"Takuma… Would you mind staying with me? Just for a little bit? I mean, I know its kind of weird…"

He laughed quietly and reclined back, laying across my stomach. "I dont mind."

I made a soft sound when the air was pressed from my lungs. "Thanks."

"Any time."

I was silent for a while, watching his head rise and fall on my stomach. "Hey, I just wanted to tell you something."

"Hm?"

"Thanks. Thanks for everything you do for me."

"What? You dont have to thank me. Its what friends are for." He smiled, reaching up and poking my nose.

What friends are for? Making life worth living again.

A/N: So, how did it go? This is fairly old (older than anything Ive posted so far), and when I wrote it, it was the first time in a very long time that Id written a one shot without a lemon… or at least a kiss… or romance… or major swearing and violence. I felt like such a good girl! Haha. This is really VERY different from most of my other stuff. And I wrote it in only about three hours! Its a world record!

I like feedback very much, and I especially want to know how I did on this one. Too dramatic? Too random? Too OOC? Please let me know, thanks!

(1): really crappy metaphor. If I didnt get my point across, I basically meant "no stopping of tears" so yeah. Really random metaphor. Im not even religious!


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